More voters in Maharashtra than total adult population of state, claims Rahul Gandhi
New Delhi (PTI): The Congress, Shiv Sena-UBT and NCP-SP on Friday alleged irregularities in the voter lists of Maharashtra, claiming that a total of 39 lakh voters were added between Lok Sabha and assembly elections in the state.
Addressing a joint press conference here, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi claimed that the total number of voters added in Maharashtra was equivalent to the population of a state like Himachal Pradesh, and urged the Election Commission to provide them list of voters and come clean on the issue.
He claimed the majority of the voters added have gone in the BJP's favour as the opposition parties have maintained their vote share in the assembly polls.
Flanked by NCP-SP's Supriya Sule and Sena's Sanjay Raut, Gandhi said the adult population of Maharashtra is 9.54 crore as per government data while the voter population of the state is 9.7 crore.
There are more voters in Maharashtra than total adult population of state, alleged Rahul Gandhi.
He said while 39 lakh voters were added in Maharashtra in five months after LS polls, as much as 32 lakh votes were added in the state in the previous five years between 2019 and 2024.
He said if the EC does not provide the voter lists of assembly and Lok Sabha polls in Maharashtra, it poses a serious question.
"We are now heading towards complete destruction of Constitution. But, we are in the business of protecting the Constitution," Gandhi told reporters.
He said the next step would be to knock at the doors of the judiciary.
"It is surprising to me that the EC is not ready to give us voter lists and the only reason possible is that there is something wrong and they know it," Gandhi claimed.
Raut said, "If the EC is alive and is not dead, it should answer questions posed by Rahul Gandhi. Otherwise it will be construed that EC is slave to the government."
The EC should bring transparency, he added.
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Bihar: Over 150 children fall ill after consuming 'mid-day meal' in Saharsa
Saharsa (PTI): More than 150 children were taken ill after allegedly consuming food that was part of the mid-day meal in a school in Bihar’s Saharsa district, a senior official said on Thursday.
The incident occurred at a middle school in Baluaha village of the district.
The official said that 115 children were undergoing treatment at the Sadar Hospital, while around 50 students were admitted to Mahishi Public Health Centre.
“We received information that several children fell ill after consuming the mid-day meal in Baluaha. The children were initially treated at the primary health centre, but later, many were referred to the Sadar Hospital,” Saharsa District Magistrate Deepesh Kumar told reporters.
“According to doctors, the health condition of the children has improved, but they will be kept under observation for some time. There is no need to panic. Some kids are having mild fever. They are being treated accordingly,” Kumar said.
Meanwhile, family members of some children claimed that a snake was found in the container in which cooked pulses was stored at the school.
Of the 545 students present in the school, 200 had already eaten their meals by the time the snake was spotted, and later complained of stomach ache and vomiting, they said.
Regarding the claims, the DM said food samples have been collected from the school.
“We will be able to comment on this only after the results of the tested samples arrive,” he said.
